Christmas Day is No Different

I learned tonight
that Christmas day is no different

Perhaps people act nicer.

perhaps.

And yet a teenager is murdered outside his home

somewhere else

a family is broken

somewhere else

bitterness consumes a heart

somewhere else

a cancer patient fights the disease

somewhere else

an addict does not lose the craving

somewhere else

a toddler is still hungry

everywhere else

desperate prayers are repeated

Christmas day is no different

The world does not stop for Christmas

half the world may not even celebrate today

there is no magical clause that says

today we will live in peace

today there will be no cease fire

today bullets will be replaced with snowballs

the day does not become merry or bright

just because the Christmas is white

and snow, if it chooses to fall,

does not erase the tracks of tears

Christmas day is no different

I walked down the street

lined with the light-filled trees

a 2 year old and his father played by the station

that’s what Christmas is

supposed to be.

I believed that good tidings and comfort and joy

were held by everyone

just for the day

if only for the day

we sing joy to the world

so the world must be joyful

but who are we asking to rest

if the men are not merry or gentle?

I lit the candles for silent night

but that bullet split the silence the night before

and one candle will nevermore be lit

there was no peace on earth

someone did not believe in good will toward men

Christmas day was no different

then

in the pew

with my father beside me

I realized

that while the day itself holds no magic

holding no guarantee of peace

today, we remember the promise

the promise of the past for the future

what we were singing about

what we were learning about

Jesus was born

the child of the Promise

the God incarnate

the Wonderful Counselor

the Mighty God

the Everlasting Father

the Prince of Peace

and the government will be on His shoulders

it is Christ who promises peace on earth

the wiping away of tears

good will towards men

comfort and joy

it is the King who promises these things

it is not the day

Christmas day is no different

The day is just a day

it even may have occurred on a different day

but we choose today

to take the time to remember

to rejoice

rejoice!

that Emmanuel

God with us

will one day return and ransom us

from the gunshots

from the brokenness

from all the days that will be no different

until He comes

The world may not be put on hold for Christmas

but Christ does hold the world

and one day

there will be a silent night.

- in memory of Kevin, shot outside his home 12-23-2006